The city of light darkens

This past Friday, the world experienced a true tragedy. Paris, France was the victim of several attacks of terrorism late Friday night. The venues that were attacked included a concert hall, the street by the Stade de France, a bar, and a restaurant.

The Bataclan concert hall was the most gruesome and deadliest of the sites due to the death of eighty nine people. The gunmen had taken hostages and moved them to the front of the stage, which is where most of the bodies were found later on that night.

Lucky, people were able to escape before they were trapped in the building. Others were stuck in various rooms in the building where they remained for several hours, only to have to hear the horrors that laid beyond the door.

At the nearby location of Stade de France President Francois Hollande was watching the soccer game; cheering his nation on against Germany. When the first suicide bomb went off the audience heard it clearly. The president was rushed from the stadium and into safety while the game continued.

Only half an hour away from the Stade de France were the sites of three suicide bombings. The gunmen all had suicide bombs attached to their belts which they used when militia closed in on them. Six out of the seven gunmen used their devices while the seventh was shot down by police.

The following day Parisians gathered to mourn the losses of the victims. France now observes three days of mourning for the victims which was announced on the fifteenth. Thousands of flowers and candles lined the venues that were attacked as people paid their respects.

Photos taken of the mourning are heartbreaking to look at. There are many photos of people completely distraught as they stand there crying. Another photo depicts a rose stuck into a bullet hole at the La Belle Equipe restaurant.

Over hundreds of lives were changed the night of the Paris attacks and we can only hope that they will be able to move on and become a strengthened nation because of it.